Process wherein fluid hydrocarbons are contacted and mixed with acidic fluid in a confined zone



L c. HUFF A Seuss u c 7 s g 9 PROCESS WHEREIN FLUID HYDROCA'RBONS ARECONTACTED AND MIXED WITH ACIDIG FLUID IN A CONFINED ZONE Original FiledMay 25, 1945 f4 f4 u Patented Aug. 7, 1945 UNITED STATE rnoonsscoNrAc'ran s PATENT .oF-FICE FLUID HYDBOCARBONS MIXEDWITH ARE ACIDIOFLUID IN A CONFINED ZONE v Lyman C. Huff, Chicago, lll., assignor toUniversal i'iii Products Company,

tion of Delaware original sppuoauon VMoy 25, 1942. serial No. 444,328.Divided and this application Septemo, Ill., a corporabei' 20, 1943.Serial No. 503,053

BClaims. (CL 2GB-683.4)

This is a division of my co-pending application which has issued asPatent No. 2,347,195, April 25, 1 944. o

The invention relates to an improved method of obtaining mixing orintimate contact between two or more fluids.

'I'he invention will be found useful andfadvanytageous in a-wide varietyof chemical processes and -in its broader aspects is not limited to usein any specific chemical reaction but is directed mate contacting offluids in `a con'nnedzone.

. However, the features of the invention are particularly advantageousas applied to handling hot and/or corrosive fluids at high pressure. I

broadly to operations involving mixing or intitherefore specificallycontemplate the use of my c invention in conductingchemical processesemploying elevated temperatures and-/or pressures A and in which one ormore of the uids to be com-- mingled is hot or corrosive or both andfunctions either as a treating or refining agent or as one of .thereactants, or as a catalyst or similarV agent for promoting the desiredreaction or for retardl ing undesired side reaction's.- i

The now well known process of alkylating satumember orsleeve I5extending lengthwise of and' let conduits for'the fluid reactants andthe reaction products.

Referring tothe drawing and particularly to Figure l, the apparatus hereillustrated comprises an impeller 3 mounted on and adjacent one end of arotatable shaft 4 which extends downwardly.

from the impeller through a bearing l disposed in a housing or case Sandextends upwardly from the impeller through bearings 'I and 8 and apacking gland containing suitablepaoking mate-- rial 8. A housing il is-provided for the bear'- ing 1 and, in the case illustrated, bearing 8`and packing i are disposed in a' suitable housf ing il which'alsoprovides aconfined sp'ace i2 between this bearing and the packing. Anad-l 'iustable follower Il, secured to member Il by compressing y thetake-up bolts i4, is provided for the packing material.

Members ill and Il are spaced a vsubstantial distance apart and areconnected by a tubular spaced from the shaft l and providing a conlinedzone i8 therebetween which communicates at its opposite ends withbearings I and l.

rated with unsaturated hydrocarbons employing l' alkylating agents, suchas sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrogen fluoride or aluminumchloride, is a good example of one of the many processes in which thefeatures of theinvention may be employed to advantage.

Another such example is found in any of a wide variety of so-calledtreating processes employed for removing undesirable components fromcracked distillates and other hydrocarbons or for retarding thedetrimental effect of. such materials. Processes of this class employvarious reagents of a corrosive nature, such as sulfuricacid, hy-

' drogen chloride, caustic soda, plumbite, copper chloride andothermetal salts'and the like and the features of the invention areparticularly `advantageous as applied to such operations.

The features and advantages of the invention Shaft 4 is drilled vorotherwise provided at its lower end with a fluid passageway il throughwhich communication is established between the space I6 within sleeve i5and a connedspace I8 provided within memberv 6 beneath the bearing 5 andat the lower end. of the shaft, this space being in communication withvbearing I.

The device illustrated 4in Figure 1 is adapted to be disposed withinA areactor, mixing tank or other desired vessel containing a `body or poolof the uids to be mixed or contacted, with the impeller 3 immersed insaid pool or body and with all or a portion of member il disposedoutside' the vessel. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Figure 2 andwill be later described,

Shaft 4 is connected at its upper end by well. known means, notillustrated, with any suitable form of motivating means. such as anelectric.

motor, 'iiuid driven turbine or the like, not shown, and preferably asuitable outboard thrust bearing, indicated at is in' Figure 2 andwhich-in this instance is attached to member Il, is provided adjacentthe upper end of the shaft. When desired. however, any of the bearingsI, 1 or l may be constructed and arranged to take the thrust of shaft Ior a thrust-bearing may be' provided within the confined space vI8 ofmember 6, in which case shaft 4 will extend thereto and bear thereon andwill be provided with lateraldrilling,connecting thespace Il with theuid shaftv against relatively low pressure. To accomplish thesedesirable results, an "auxiliary stream of fluid, which may be a portionor an ingredient of the mixture being handled by the impeller, issupplied to the space it within sleeve I through line 2li at a somewhatgreater pressure than that maintained in the vessel within which thedevice is used. When high temperature is employed in the'mixing zone,the fluid supplied to the device through line 2@ is relatively cool andwhen the mixture handled by thelmpeller includes material of a corrosivenature, the uid supplied through line is of a non-corrosive ormaterially less corrosive nature. In some instances the material handledby impeller 3 is quite corrosive at high temperature but may be safelyemployed at low temperature as the fluid supplied through line 20.

Bearings 5, i and 8 are so tted to shaft that, under the pressureprevailing in zone !6,`fiuid supplied thereto through line 20 is forcedbetween the bearings and the shaft. Fluid flows directly from zone I5between bearing I and the shaft into the mixing `zone above impeller 3and another portion thereof ows through the fluid passageway il inshaft, d into zone I8 within vmember and therefrom between bearing 5 andthe shaft into the' mixing zone beneath the impeller. Another portion ofthe fluid from zone I6 flows directly therefrom between bearing. 8 andthe shaft into zone i2 provided within member, II beneath packing 9,wherefrom it is discharged through line 2i. Line 2l communicates with azone of relatively low pressure as compared with that employed in zoneI6 and also, when desired, as compared with that employed in the mixingzone, so that the pressure prevailing in zone I2 is relatively low andserves to materially decrease the pressure which would otherwise beexerted against packing 9. communicate, for example, with a suitableatmosphericor low pressure storage tank, not illustrated, for the fluidsupplied throughline 20 to l zone I6, in which case, the fluid may ofcourse be supplied to zone I6 -by a suitable pump' or compressor, notshown.

Referring now to Figure 2, a mixing or contacting device, such asillustrated in Figure 1, is disposed within a reactor or any otherdesired closed vessel 22 with member 6 mounted on and suitably securedto flange 23, which serves as a removable closure member at the lowerend of the vessel, and with member Il disposed outside the vessel andmountedon the upper man-way ange 2d, which serves as a closure member atthe upper end of the vessel. Sleeve I5 is preferably of suitable sizeand rigidity to serve as a brace for 'bearing 1, as well as a means ofenclosing the shaft between members It and II, although this bearing may'be additionally braced and retained in alignment, when ldesired, bysecuring member Ill to the walls of the vessel 22 with suitable radialarms or the like, not illustrated.

One or more of the materials to be intimately mixed or contacted invessel 22 is supplied thereto through line 25. The vessel may bemaintained substantially full of the reacting mixture or a suitableliquid level may be maintained at any desired point above the impeller.The reactants are circulated by the impeller in the general mannerillustrated by the arrows, whereby they are intimately commingled andwherein the desired reaction is accomplished. The size ofthe vessel andthe rate of ilow of the reactants thereto and resulting conversionproducts therefrom are regulated to give the desired reaction time inthe vessel. The reaction products are discharged from the vessel throughthe outlet connection 2t to separating and recovery equipment of anysuitable form, which is'not pertinent to the present invention andtherefore not illustrated.

When the reaction conducted within chamber 22 is oi a stronglyexothermic nature, as in the case of polymerization, alkylatlon and thelike, one or more cooling coils or other tubular duid conduits or thelike. not illustrated, may be pro-= vided within the chamber in the pathof flow of the mixture passing to and from the impeller and a coolingfluid is circulated through the coils to control the reactiontemperature. A heating fluid may be substituted for the cooling fluid inlcase the reaction being conducted is of a strongly endothermic nature.The fluid supplied through line 20 to zone I6 of the mixing device andtherefromintothe reacting mixture and through line Y 2I, as previouslydescribed, may be one or more non-corrosive ingredients of the mixtureor it may be any other fluid which willserve to protect the bearings andwill not adversely affect the desired reaction when commingled in smallamounts with the reacting mixture. A valve 2 is provided in line 2D tocontrol the quantity of liuid supplied therethrough to zone I6 and, incase the fluid supplied to zone I6 is an ingredient of the mixture to bereacted and it is not desired to supply all of this ingredient to themixing zone past the bearings, a line 28 and valve 29'are provided toconnect line 2l), on the upstream side of valve 2l, with line 25,wherebya regulated portion of the material from line 20 may be supplieddirectly to the mixing zone.

a process for alkylating saturated hydrocarbons,

such as isobutane, for example, with unsaturated When desired, line 2lmay hydrocarbons, such as butylenes, propylene or the like employing acorrosive alkylating agent, such as, for example, sulfuric acid orhydrogen fluoride, the saturated reactants and alkylating agent may besupplied directly to the mixing zone of chamber 22 through line 25, or aseparate inlet line may be provided for the alkylating agent; All or aportion Vof the unsaturated reactants are supplied through line 20 andvalve 21 to zone I6, another regulated portion thereof being supplied,when desired, through line l28 and valve 2B directly to the mixing zone.Alternatively, aregulated quantity of the total saturated andunsaturated hydrocarbon reactants may be supplied to the mixing zonethrough line 25 either alone or together with the alkylating agent,lWhile another regulated portion of the hydrocarbon mixture, without thealkylatlng agent, is supplied to zone i6.

Since the alkylating reaction is of a highly exlthe mixing zone ispreferably at a temperature ature or high pressure. or the mixing zone.

below that desired for conducting the reaction when the desired reactiontemperature is above 100' F., or thereabouts,-so that introduction ofthismaterlal into the mixing zone, in the-mangaseous orlight liquidhydrocarbons,l a substantial superatmospheric pressure, suilicienttovmaintain the reactants `in liquid phase `or, in dense phaseresembling that of a liquid, is preferably employed in the reactionzone. On the other hand, the refining treatment of crackedsdistil--lates and other hydrocarbons isnusually accomplished at substantiallyatmospheric pressure.

It will be apparent that at. leastsome 'of the features of the inventionmay be employed to advantage regardlessbf the temperature and -pressureutilized'in the mixing or reaction zone l when the mixture undergoingtreatment therein contains materials of a corrosive nature. v0n the Y t0ing packed against leakagey at this point, the

other hand, some of the features" of the invention will l be foundadvantageous .regardless of the u corrosive or non-corrosive nature ofthe material undergoing treatment when either high temperboth, areemployed in Iclaim:` x l. In -a process wherein apluralityjoi' fluidsare mixed in a closed receptacle by an impeller immersed in a mass oitheA fluids to 'be mixed and driven bya shaft iournalled in bearingmeans therefor, at least one component of the mixture being corrosiveand atleast oneother component thereof being relatively non-corrosive,the improved mode of operation whichcomprises providing about'said shafta confined space in com-4 55 munication with said bearing means,Asupplying said corrosive component directly to said mass within thereceptacle andsupplying at least a portion of the non-corrosivecomponent to said confined space and'then passing the same between saidshaft and bearing into said mass.

2.4mm a process wherein fluid hydrocarbons are contacted and mixed withacidic fluid in a conner previously described, serves to control or at 5fined mixing zone and said mixing is accomleast assist in controllingthe reaction temperaplished with an impeller immersed in the body tureby vcounteracting or partially counteracting of fluids to be mixed anddriven by la shaft jourthe heat evolved in the exothermic reaction. Asnalled in a bearing, said shaft being packed previously mentioned,suitable cooling coils or against leakage from the mixing zone on thatthe like may also be provided within the reaction l0 side of the bearingremote from the impeller, the zone, when desired. improvement whichcomprises providing a. oon- Inkapplying the features of the invention tothe ilned space about said shaft between the bearing .treatment ofhydrocarbon distillates, such as andthe packing, supplying said acidicfluid dicracked gasoline, yfor example, with corrosive rectly to themixing zone and supplying at least treating agents, such as sulfuricacid, caustic ls a portion of the fluid hydrocarbons to be consoda,metal salts or the like, the treating agent, tacted and mixed therewithto said confined either alone or with a portion of the distillate spaceand therefrom between said shaft and bearmaybe supplied to the mixingzone of chamber ing into the mixing zone, whereby to protectthe 22through line V25 andanother portion of the bearing and packing fromcontact withsaid distillate, without the treating agent, is supplied 20acidic fluid. through line 20 to zone i6.. 3. A process such as definedin claim 2, where- Any required pressure may. be'e'mployed within saidmixing is accompanied by an exothermic in chamber 22, ranging fromsub-atmospheric to reaction and wherein the hydrocarbon fluid sup- 4high superatmospherlc pressure. In processes plied to said confinedspaceand therefrom into for the polymerization or alkylation of normally 2s.the mixing zone. as' described, enters the mixing sist in controllingthe vtemperature of. the 'latter and maintain said 'bearing and packingrelatively cool.

4. In a process wherein rated hydrocarbons are alkylated with the aid ofan acidic alkylating fluid in a confined mixing zone, wherein thel fluidhydrocarbon reactjants and alkylating agent are mixed by an impellerimmersed in abody 'of .said fluids and driven by a shaft journalled in abearing', said shaftl passing from the mixing zone on that side of thebearing remote from the impeller and beimprovement which comprisesproviding a confined space about said shaft between" the bearing least aportion of the s rectly into said body oi' iiuid'inthemixing zone andsupplying another :portion of "the hydrocar.-

bon reactants to said confined space/and therefrom between` said shaftand ybearinginto the mixing zone, whereby to protect the bearing andPlckinE from contact with saidv acidiciiid.

`5. A process such as defined in claim ,4, wherein the hydrocarbon fluidsupplied to saidj-.conned space and therefrom into. the mixing gene, asdescribed, enters the latter at atemperature be- LYMAN 0.11pm".

saturated and unsatu- I and supplying said acidic fiuid'and athydrocarbon. reactants dillow that desired for conducting the alkylatingand packing relatively cool. I

